Stuck!
by Hershey-chan
Summary: Kagome transfers to another school and meets Kuwabara. But when Yukina is murdered by Naraku, he must avenge her death while trying to reveal his feelings for Kagome. Talk about stuck! O.o
1. Kagome goes to Sarashiki Junior High

**A/N: I'm going to clear this up now to avoid further confusion. Yes, you read right. This is a Kuwabara/Kagome fic. Don't like it? DON'T READ IT. It's as simple as that. NO FLAMES!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Inu-Yasha or Yu Yu Hakusho…(DUH!)**

**Chapter 1:**

**Kagome goes to Saryashiki Junior High**

Kagome Higurashi looked out of the window of her house and sighed. It was storming like crazy outside and it showed no signs of stopping. The house was still and quiet except for the gentle pit-pat-pit-pat sound of the rain hitting the windows and the occasional, but loud thunder. The lightning flashed as she got up out of bed to get herself some water. She took a quick glance at the clock out of her sleepy eyes. 2:00 in the morning. She couldn't sleep, and she knew exactly why.

She had gotten into a very heated argument with Inu-Yasha earlier that night about why he was always putting that Shikon Jewel above her, and her head was hurting from all that yelling. Just the thought of Inu-Yasha alone made her want to bash his head open. She looked over at the small jar of jewel shards that sat on her nightstand. The jewel was almost complete. Only four shards were missing: the two in Koga's legs, the one in Kohaku's back and one that Naraku managed to get his hands on. The jewel's pink aura lit up her room when she came back. She grabbed the jar and threw it against the wall in a rage of fury.

_Damn jewel shards,_ she thought as she got back into bed.

As far as she was concerned, Inu-Yasha _and_ his jewel shards could burn in hell. He had that promise with Kikyo anyway.

The storm got a little calmer. Kagome's head hurt so badly she couldn't speak nor do anything. Just think. Think about Inu-Yasha and why he betrayed her. Sure, he had demons and other enemies to fight and that rare Shikon Jewel to protect from evil, but that didn't mean he had to go off and pretend she wasn't there. And he treated her so bad! Hell, what was the use of going back there anymore? It was just going to mean more problems with Inu-Yasha. She finally swore an oath never to fall in love again, no matter who may feel the same way for her. Soon enough, she fell asleep.

"Kagome! Hurry and get up! I have some great news." she heard a voice say about three or four hours later. It was her mom. Kagome slowly got out of bed, still with the headache from last night. After getting herself ready for the day and eating breakfast, her mom stood up at the table as if she was about to make a very important announcement. And she did.

"Well, I guess I should tell you why I called you all here. I have some  
wonderful news."

"I wonder what that could be?" said Kagome, half to herself, and half to her mom, although she really wasn't interested.

"Well," said her mom, straightening her blouse, "I got a new job  
downtown, and since that's about an hour from here, we'll have to move further downtown, and Kagome, we'll have to transfer you to another school."

Just GREAT! thought Kagome. After all, her head hurt, she was tired, and the last thing she needed was to be transferred to another school. That meant she had to make new friends, find her way through a possibly GIANT school with maze-like hallways and not to mention the bullies! Saryashiki Junior High was known for mean bullies.  
Kagome looked at her watch. 6:30. This day couldn't get any worse for her.

Her mom handed her a folded up slip of paper. "It's directions to the train station. You have to be there by 7:00 each morning. I already have the transfer papers filled out, so all you have to do is go! I think you should get going. After all, you don't want to be late for your first day at Saryashiki Junior High, do you?" her mom chuckled. "Oh, and by the way, we just got your new uniform! Isn't it cute?" Before Kagome could protest, a blue school uniform was handed to her. "Well, what are you waiting for? Go change!" said her mom.

_Minutes later…_

She stared blankly at the mirror wearing her new uniform. It was somewhat similar to her old one. It was still a sailor-type uniform, but instead of green and red it was blue and yellow, and the blue pleated skirt that went with it was reached down to her knees and was extremely long compared to her short green one. Besides that, everything else was about the same.

She sighed in disgust. These people seriously have bad taste, she thought to herself as she headed out the door. ("Have a nice day, honey!" Her mom said, grinning.) As she did, she unfolded the slip of paper. She could barely make out a message through the very scratchy handwriting:

_Go up the street until you get to West 4th Avenue & Main Street. The bullet train station is to your left._

This was gonna be a _long _walk.

Meanwhile in downtown Tokyo, Keiko Yukimura was just getting up.

"Oh no! I'm gonna be late!" She quickly jumped out of bed and got dressed. It took her about five minutes to get ready for school and walk out the door. Okay, more like run out of the door. It was 6:35. As she passed by the arcade, she suddenly stopped. She thought she heard a voice. Thinking it was just her imagination, she continued walking. Then she heard it again.

_"Damn it! I set this game's record for sucking!"_

That was no surprise. Yusuke was skipping school...again. It seemed his favorite place was the arcade. Keiko sighed and stormed into the arcade.  
_Here we go again,_ she thought.

Kagome, on the other hand, was in a rush. She ran as fast as her legs could carry her, which wasn't very fast because she was still sleepy. She was running and running until something stopped her. She stumbled back, and then she heard some glass shatter and a voice say,  
"Hey, watch where you're going!" Kagome looked up. She saw three tall, mean-looking boys of about 18 or 19.  
All three of them were dressed in blue jeans, white t-shirts, white sneakers and black leather jackets. One had wavy blond hair and blue eyes, one had long black hair with brown eyes; he looked very much like Yusuke, except he had longer hair and had it pulled back in a ponytail. He also looked like a younger version of Shizuru's short-term lover Sakyo. Finally, the third one had curly red hair and green eyes. All three of them had bottles of beer in their hands, except the black-haired one.

"Well looky what we got here!" said the red-haired one. His voice was squeaky and annoying. "I've never seen her around here before."  
Before Kagome could move, the black-haired boy stepped forward, grabbed by the neck, and threw her to the ground.  
"You dirty bitch!" he said. His voice bore so much resemblance to Inu-Yasha's that it was pitiful. "Look what ya made me do!" He grabbed her by the neck once again, pulled her up, and pointed to the ground.  
Kagome then discovered what that shattering sound was.  
She saw a broken beer bottle along with a large brown puddle.  
Well someone's aggressive! she thought.  
The black-haired one then looked at his friends.  
"What do ya think I should do about this, boys?"  
The blond one was in the middle of lighting a cigarette when he looked up and said, "I think you should teach her a lesson." His voice was very deep and sounded remarkably like Hiei's.  
"Yeah," said the red-haired one. "She made you spill your beer. She  
deserves some punishment." He smirked. "Let me go! I DEMAND you to let me go! I won't..." said Kagome, kicking and screaming.  
"Shut up, bitch," said the black-haired boy, throwing her to the ground once again. "I'll teach you to spill my beer!"  
_**"HEEEEEEEEELLLLLPPP!" **_screamed Kagome.

Meanwhile Kazuma Kuwabara was on his way to the arcade when he heard the scream. He ran towards the sound. He ran about three blocks when he saw Kagome and three boys. The black-haired boy had her by the neck in one hand and was repeatedly punching her in the face with the other. He wasn't about to stand there and do nothing. Hitting girls was against his honor code. Kuwabara didn't know Kagome, but he sure as hell wasn't going to stand there and let her get beat to a pulp. He ran towards them and yelled,

**"LEAVE HER ALONE!"**

The black-haired boy looked up. "Who the hell are you!" he said. "I'm Kazuma Kuwabara, and I won't let you lay another finger on her!" The blond boy was outraged. He dropped Kagome and ran towards Kuwabara. "I don't care who you are! Stay the fuck out of my business!" He jumped up and as he landed he nailed him with a bone-crunching punch in the nose, knocking him down. Kuwabara quickly got up. Blood was streaming down his face but he didn't care. He looked at Kagome. "Stand back," he said in a comforting tone of voice. "I wouldn't want you to get hurt."  
Kagome nodded and hid behind a nearby bush.  
He then faced his opponent.  
The blond smirked.  
"Ready to get your ass whooped?" said the black-haired one.  
"You WISH!" said Kuwabara, charging toward him. He nailed him with a combo of punches and kicks and then one good, hard punch in the face which knocked him out, and by the looks of it, he wasn't going to wake up from that one anytime soon!

Kuwabara turned and faced the other two.  
"Who else wants some!" he said.

They fled like scared dogs.

He wiped the blood from his face and looked at Kagome. "Are you okay?"

Kagome stepped from behind the bush. "Uumm...I guess so... I-I-I-I..." she replied, and then she looked up. Suddenly, her headache disappeared. What-- or who--she saw left her stuttering. She saw a young boy of about 14 or 15. He had orange hair styled in a very outdated, Elvis-looking hairstyle. He had brown eyes and was dressed in a blue school uniform. Kagome just stood there staring at him.

"Hey, are you all right? You're startin' to creep me out just starin' at me like that." said Kuwabara, noticing that Kagome was staring at him for a very long time.

"U-umm...yeah," Kagome replied, snapping out of it. "Thank you."

"You're welcome. By the way, my name's Kazuma Kuwabara," said Kuwabara.

"Hello, Kuwabara-kun," said Kagome. "My name's K-Kagome…Kagome Higurashi."

"Nice to meet you, Higurashi-san." he replied in a friendly tone. "You know, I've never seen you around these parts before. Are you a transfer student or something?"

Kagome nodded. "Yeah, I'm supposed to be going to this school called Saryashiki Junior High and..."

"I go to that school! Hey, why don't you let me walk you to your bus stop?"

Kagome nodded once again.  
"Here," he said. "Let me help you up." Kagome tried to stand on her own, but she couldn't. Her back hurt. When the black-haired boy threw her on the ground, she landed on one of the shards of  
glass from the beer bottle, and it was stuck in her back.

" You're too weak to walk on your own. And you're bleeding! Please let me help you."

He picked her up and carried her the rest of the way to school.  
Kagome looked at her watch. "7:00! Oh, no! We're late!" "Not necessarily," said Kuwabara. "I can run fast. We'll get to school in no time."  
And he sped off, carrying her in his arms.

---

_**"YUSUKE!"**  
_  
Keiko's yell could be heard throughout the whole city block.

_Just great!_ thought Yusuke. Does she ever leave me alone!

"Oh, no you don't!" said Keiko, spotting him. "You're not skipping school again! Your mom had to do a lot of convincing to the school district just so they wouldn't fail you this year!"

A nearby kid jeered, "Ha ha ha! I always knew Urameshi was a wuss! Look, his mom walks him to school now!" He was tall and had curly blond hair and very bad acne. Everyone in the arcade cracked up. Keiko frowned while Yusuke's face turned beet red.

"Why, you shit-face motherfucker! I'll fuck you up…!" He would made good on his wish if Keiko didn't grab him by the ear and drag him out of the arcade.

"Damn it, Keiko-chan! What'd ya do that for! I was this close to winning..."

"We have school, Yusuke-san! I know you don't want to go, but..."

"But what!" said a very ticked off Yusuke.

Keiko's voice softened. "Can you at least do it...for me?"

Yusuke hated it when this happened. Keiko was his best friend and he didn't like letting her down or seeing her sad. But lately she was always nagging him, which really ticked him off.

"Auughh...DAMN IT! Fine, I'll go _...just for today."_ He finally said, not because he didn't want to disappoint her, just to get her to shut up.

"But first, I got some unfinished business to take care of." With that, he rolled up his sleeves and stormed back into the arcade.

"**HEY, SHITFACE!" **

Everyone else in the arcade stopped laughing immediately. However, the blond boy was still guffawing like a hillbilly and hardly heard him. "…And I bet she cleans the shit off his diapers, too! Hawhawhaw—AUGH!"

Needless to say, Yusuke beat the living hell out of that guy.

Keiko just sighed and grinned. _"Oh, Yusuke, you're such a thug…"_

After minutes of senseless beating, the two finally headed off to school.


	2. Kagome and Kuwabara: It's NOT Love!

**Chapter 2:**

**Kagome and Kuwabara: It's NOT Love!**

About 45 minutes later the school bell rang. Keiko was in class but  
Yusuke was nowhere to be found. On their way to class Keiko stopped to chat with her friends for a little bit, and she told Yusuke to stay put. Yusuke did the exact opposite and sped off behind her back and went back to the arcade. Keiko was furious!  
Meanwhile, Kuwabara took Kagome to the school nurse. She was going to be ok, but Kuwabara kept an extra eye on her.  
A few hours later it was lunchtime.  
Yusuke returned from the arcade to have lunch and chat with Kuwabara. "So where the hell were you this morning?" asked Yusuke, stuffing his face with a rather large rice paddy.  
"The school nurse," said Kuwabara.  
"The school nurse? What for? Got the runs or something?" he laughed. "That's not funny," snapped Kuwabara. "And if you wanna know so badly, I rescued this girl from some bullies and she was BADLY hurt by the time I got to her so I took her to the school nurse. She's better now, and I'm keeping and extra eye on her." Yusuke laughed again. "I bet you are! Why are you keeping such a close eye on her? Hell, you don't even know her name!"  
"Her name's Kagome. Kagome Higurashi and she's new here. I have to make sure she doesn't get hurt."  
Yusuke smirked. "Yeah, right. You're cheating on Yukina, aren't you?"  
**"WHAT!** I would NEVER do such a thing!" shrieked his friend. "I love Yukina with all my heart and nothing could change that!" "Sure you do...and I bet you'll definitely be saying that when she catches you cheating on her! Man, Hiei would kick your ass if he knew you cheated on his sister…"

(A/N: Oh, yeah, I forgot to mention, in this story, Kuwabara knows that Yukina is Hiei's sister. But he doesn't care; he loves her anyway!)

"That's ENOUGH! You're one to talk, running off to the arcade behind Yukimura-san's back! I hope catches you here. Hey, there she is now. Hey, Yukimura-san, over here...!"  
Just then, the school loudspeaker went off.

_"Kazuma Kuwabara, please report to the nurse's office."  
"Kazuma Kuwabara, please report to the nurse's office."_

Kuwabara hopped up and headed for the nurse's office. "She must be better now. See ya later, Urameshi-kun. Oh, yeah, and here comes  
Yukimura-san. She can keep you some company while I'm gone."  
He grinned and sped off. The minute Yusuke turned around to go back to the arcade he found you-know-who standing right in front of him, infuriated, with tears streaming down her face.  
"Yusuke-san, you JERK!"  
"Umm...K-Keiko-chan, I-I can explain..."  
_POW!_  
She slapped him so hard the whole city could hear it. Meanwhile, Kuwabara rushed down to the nurse's office. When he got there, he saw Kagome sitting in a chair waiting for him. Her right leg and her back were wrapped in bandages and she was holding her schedule in her hand.  
"Are you all right, Higurashi-san?" he said softly.  
Kagome nodded.  
Just then, the nurse came in. "You must be Kuwabara-kun. She's better now, but she'll need help walking and getting to her classes. That's where you come in. You two have the exact same schedule, so you'll have no problem doing that."

"Yes, ma'am," said Kuwabara. He helped Kagome up and the both walked to class.

As the exited they nurse's office, nurse whispered to Kagome, _"Don't worry. He's a good guy. He'll take good care of you."_

"Did I ever thank you saving me earlier?" said Kagome, weakly. "Yeah," replied Kuwabara. "Don't mention it. If anyone messes with you, come to me, and I'll set them right for you."  
"Gee, thanks. But why are you saying this? I mean, you just met me—" "Because I'm a man and that's what men do. They protect people; just like I'm going to protect you. I may not know you that well, but I can tell what you've been through. I can see it in your eyes."  
"But..."  
Kuwabara put his finger to her lips. "Shh, you don't have to say  
anything," he said softly. "Just trust me, okay?"  
Kagome nodded silently.  
He sure has a way with words, she thought.  
"Now, let's get to class before Urameshi-kun catches us here."  
"Who's 'Urameshi-kun'? "said Kagome.

**_"HA! CAUGHT YOU IN THE ACT!"_**

Kagome and Kuwabara looked up to see Yusuke standing in front of them, smirking, with a big red handprint on his face from Keiko's slap. "I knew it! I KNEW you were cheating on Yukina!" He stepped closer. "And this must be 'Higurashi-san!'" He pointed to her, saying her name in a mocking manner.

Kuwabara scoffed. "Get over yourself, Urameshi! I told you before that I would never do that. Yukina-chan is my heart. She's my soul. She's the only reason I get up in the morning. When she's happy, I'm happy. When she cries, I feel her pain. She's like a part of me, and I love her with all my heart…"  
"Start that mushy crap on me and I'm out of here. Say what you want. I still think you're cheating on Yukina-chan…"—He paused for a moment, and jumped to another subject—"And speaking of that, when are you going to throw that big party for her coming back here?"

"It's tomorrow night at my house, Urameshi," said Kuwabara, quite annoyed. Yusuke had asked this question several times during their previous class. Yukina was coming back to the Human World, one would know that Kuwabara would celebrate the occasion.

"Oh, right," he said. "Well, I better get going now—"  
Then another voice said,  
_"THERE YOU ARE, YUSUKE!"_  
Yusuke turned around.  
Guess who!  
"Damn it! Not again!"

"Yusuke-san, come on, we're gonna be late for class," said Keiko in a friendly tone of voice, almost as if that morning had never happened. Yusuke looked puzzled.  
Keiko continued talking. "Oh, hello there, Kuwabara-kun. How's it going?"  
"Fine," he replied. "That's good. Who's your friend? I've never seen her around here before."

Kagome spoke for herself. "M-my name's K-Kagome Higurashi. Umm...I'm new here and..."  
"She's having sex with Kuwabara-kun!" Yusuke butted in.  
_**"No, I'm NOT!"**_ yelled Kagome.  
"Be quiet, Yusuke-san!" said Keiko. She then turned to Kagome. "You were saying?" "Well, I'm new here, and I don't know my way around here, so Kuwabara is showing me to class."  
"Pleased to meet you, and my name's Keiko Yukimura," she said, shaking Kagome's hand. "It's been nice talking to you, and I'd love to talk more, but I have a class to get to. So I'll be going now. Come on, Yusuke."  
She left.  
Kuwabara took a look at Kagome's schedule. "Let's see, what do we have this period? Ah, Algebra. Why don't we get going?"  
Kagome nodded cheerfully.  
They went off to class.  
Yusuke rolled his eyes.  
_"Cheater."_

He went off to class with Keiko. He didn't want _another_ big red handprint on his face.

Later that day school let out.  
"Do you need for me to walk you home, Higurashi-san?" said Kuwabara.  
"That's okay. I can take the train home. My leg's feeling better, but I can't quite walk home yet. Thanks anyway."  
"Okay, I'll see you tomorrow, then..."  
Kuwabara was about to finish his sentence until he felt Kagome's arms embracing him.  
"Thank you so much," she said, softly. "You are a good guy."  
She left. Kuwabara beamed and walked home grinning every step of the way.

When Kagome got home that day, for the first time, she didn't want to go back to Inu-Yasha's time. Kuwabara was so nice. It wasn't love, but she definitely didn't to go back to Inu-Yasha's time, where she would have to worry about a certain dog demon and his stupid jewel. So she didn't. What did HE care if Kagome never came back to him? He would have been a full demon by then, and to him, apparently, that was more important.  
---  
Meanwhile back in Inu-Yasha's time, Inu-Yasha, Shippou, Sango, Miroku, and Kilala were all waiting for her.  
"Where the hell is she!" yelled a frustrated Inu-Yasha.  
"Maybe she's gone for good," said a sad Shippou.  
"I hope she's okay," said Sango. She turned to Inu-Yasha. "And I wouldn't blame her for leaving, you baka! You've let getting that jewel get to your head, you know..."  
"SHUT UP!" said Inu-Yasha. "No one asked you anyway."  
"Well, what are you going to do about it, then?" said Miroku.  
"I know exactly what I'm going to do," said Inu-Yasha.  
"What's that?" said the others in unison.  
"Easy." said the dog demon. "I'm going to go get her."


	3. Or is it?

**Chapter 3:  
Or is it?**

"WHAT!" said Sango, confused, and somewhat angry.  
"That's not very wise," said Miroku.  
"Well, do you have any better ideas!" blurted Inu-Yasha. "Well, if you're going anywhere," said Sango. "We'll have to go with you." "You can't," said Inu-Yasha selfishly. "Me and Kagome are the only ones who can travel through the well, and besides even if you could, you wouldn't be any help at all. You'd just be a big, fat pain in the ass. I'm going by myself."  
Sango stood there in silence for a moment. She then smirked and said,  
"You're in love with her, aren't you?"  
Inu-Yasha was easily infuriated.  
"What! No way! I ain't in love with her!"  
Shippou caught on quickly. "Don't be shy, Inu-Yasha. We all know you're in love with her. Go ahead. Go and get your woman!"  
**"SHE AIN'T MY WOMAN!"** shrieked the dog demon, now strangling poor Shippou.  
Inu-Yasha was too mad and embarrassed to even speak. I ain't gotta take this, he thought. He couldn't believe the things they were saying. Kagome? His woman? Please! He never liked Kagome...Well, maybe he did. Deep down inside he really did care for her. Sango was right. He owed her and apology, and that's exactly what he was gonna do.  
But he surely wasn't gonna let Sango and Shippou know that!

The next day he hurried off to the old well, ignoring Sango's and Shippou's teases and taunts. "Well," he said when he got there. "Here goes nothing." And he jumped in.  
The next thing he knew, he found himself inside the Higurashi shrine in Kagome's backyard. The morning-time sun shined brightly as the dog demon climbed out of the well and exited the shrine.  
"Hmm," he thought. "Now where is she?"  
---  
Meanwhile Kagome was exiting her house to go to school. Her leg was feeling much better. She didn't even need her bandages anymore. She walked a couple of blocks until she saw Keiko and Yusuke. Keiko turned and greeted her happily. Yusuke just ignored her. "Hey, Higurashi-san!" she said in a friendly tone of voice. "It's nice to see you again. Is your leg feeling better?"  
"Yes," replied Kagome. "Much better."  
"Great," said Keiko. "Now why don't we get going before we're late for school?"  
Kagome nodded and all three of them set off to school.

Meanwhile, Inu-Yasha sneaked into Kagome's house and started looking for her.  
She was nowhere to be found.  
"Kagome! Kagome! Where the hell are you!"  
Nothing.  
"Damn, where could she be? ... I know! She's probably at school. ...Wait, where's her school?" He raced outside. Just then, he caught the scent of her. Thank goodness for that dog demon nose of his. He ran into the street and jumped on top of a speeding truck. It was going in the direction of her scent, and he figured he could get to her faster. Just then, the truck stopped. Inu-Yasha then looked to see what the holdup was. Other cars and trucks suddenly surrounded the truck he was standing on. Traffic jam! "DAMN IT!" He yelled, and jumped off the truck and continued following the scent on foot. Little did he know he was in for a big surprise.

---

Kagome and the others got to school pretty soon. It was starting to get a little cloudy outside, as if it were about to rain. They all rushed inside where they met Kuwabara holding the door open for them. Keiko and Yusuke went off to class while Kagome stopped to chat with Kuwabara. "I assume you leg is feeling better?" said Kuwabara, noticing that Kagome's bandages were gone. "Yup," Kagome nodded cheerfully. "It's feeling much better now. Hey, why don't we get to class?"  
"Sure," he replied. Our first class is about five minutes from here,  
anyway."  
They continued walking and chatting until they got to class. Kuwabara jumped in front of Kagome and held the door open. "Ladies first," he said, grinning.  
"Thank you," replied Kagome grinning back.  
On her way in, Kagome dropped one of her books.  
"I'll get it," Kuwabara insisted, kneeling down to get it.  
"That's ok," replied Kagome, also kneeling down.  
"No, I insist," said Kuwabara, reaching down to get the book.  
""No, that's ok," replied Kagome, also reaching for the book. "Don't worry, I..." Kuwabara started to say, but his sentence was cut off. They both noticed that Kagome's hand was on top of Kuwabara's, which was on top of the book.  
Kagome quickly snatched her hand off Kuwabara's. She was blushing...HARD. Her face was a bright cherry color.  
"It's ok," said Kuwabara softly. Kagome tore her face from his. She couldn't face him after what had just happened.

"Higurashi-san," said Kuwabara. "It's all right." He softly cupped her face with his hands. "Please look at me." It took her a while, but Kagome finally obeyed. She stared deep into his eyes, just like the way she stared into his eyes when she first met him.

Kuwabara did the same, looking into Kagome's eyes. The bell rang. They both ignored it. They were too occupied with each other. Their faces got closer and closer. They were about a quarter inch away from a long, passionate kiss when someone yelled,

**"Miss Higurashi! Mr. Kuwabara! Just what is the meaning of this! The class bell rang some time ago!"**

It was Mr. Takanaka, one of the head teachers. Kagome quickly grabbed her book and tore her face away from Kuwabara's and vice versa. They hurried into the classroom, and Kagome was blushing even harder. As they both entered the classroom, Kuwabara couldn't help but long for that kiss.  
The sky got darker and darker as Inu-Yasha finally got to Kagome's school. He didn't feel like busting in and ruining the moment. He didn't want to be noticed by all the modern day people. He wanted to get Kagome alone by herself and apologize. Yeah, that's what he was gonna do. He just hopped on top of the school's roof and fell asleep. He was tired from all that running and he needed a rest. Thoughts of Kagome ran through his head the whole time.  
About ten minutes later it started raining. Kagome stared out the window, thinking about what had just happened. What had come over her? She could have sworn she wasn't in love with him, but she couldn't stop thinking about him. No. No! Hell no! She _couldn't_ be in love with him! ... Or could she? Maybe it was just a phase she was going through. After all, she had just met him yesterday. There was no way in hell she could fall in love that quickly! Or maybe this was all just a dream and she desperately needed to wake up. Whatever it was, she hoped it would go away soon. Besides, she had an oath and she was sticking to it no matter what.  
Kuwabara sat about three rows from Kagome. _What was I thinking! He thought. I almost kissed her! I almost cheated on my one true love, Yukina. I've got be careful not to make that kind of mistake again.  
_He looked over at Kagome, who was gazing out the window. _She's so pretty, so divine and serene. I wish she were mine. he thought. No! No! No, I don't! I have Yukina. But Higurashi-san is so gorgeous, so sexy, that pretty black hair... those gorgeous brown eyes... I could stare into them forever...She's so hot... No! No, she's not! Darn it, what's wrong with me! I felt this way when I first saw Yukina-chan's beautiful face. No! I can't be in love. It can't be true! It just can't be! Oh, God, this is not happening!  
_Why can't I stop thinking about him? thought Kagome.

_Someone please tell me I'm not in love,_ they both thought at the same time.


	4. Quality Time

**Chapter 4**

**Quality Time**

Later that day school let out and it was raining harder than before. Kagome and Kuwabara exited their classroom and went to their lockers to get their things to go home. Luckily, their lockers were side by side. By this time it was raining harder than ever. Kagome was still a little embarrassed from what happened earlier. That was all she could think about that whole day. She slowly got her things and headed out the door.

Being that she was the last one to leave, the janitors locked the door behind her. She took a few steps into the rain when she realized she had forgotten her umbrella! She quickly ran to the door and tried to open it. It wouldn't budge.

"Please open the door!" she yelled, banging on the glass door. No response. There were about four or five janitors standing in front of that door mopping floors with their backs turned acting as if they couldn't hear her. After about ten minutes of trying desperately to get the janitors' attention, she finally gave up. So there she was, alone, in the rain, soaking wet, about twenty blocks from home. Well, she thought. I'm not going to get home just standing here. So she set off towards home on foot, soaking wet.

"Higurashi-san!" she heard a familiar voice say. She turned to see you-know-who standing there holding an umbrella, happening to be Kagome's.

"Kuwabara-kun!" said a relieved Kagome. She ran up to him and gratefully took her umbrella. "It was lying on the floor by your locker. I figured it was yours." He said.

"Thanks," said Kagome. "Why are you still standing out here? It's raining. Shouldn't you be at home?"

"Well, yeah," replied Kuwabara. "But I saw your umbrella on the floor by your locker so I figured you were already gone so I went outside to look for you to give you your umbrella so you wouldn't end up walking home soaking wet."

"Well, that's sweet," replied Kagome. "But what about you? You'll get drenched without an umbrella!" Kuwabara chuckled. "Heh. Like I'm not already. But don't worry about me. I'll be fine."

---

_Drip, drop, drip._

The raindrops fell down on Inu-Yasha as he still lay on top of the school building. By this time he was soaking wet as well. The lightning flashed, followed by loud thunder, which definitely woke the dog demon up. His eyes snapped open. "Oh shit! I forgot about Kagome!" he instantly said. He quickly jumped off the building. He tried to snuff out Kagome's scent, but the smell of the rain covered it up.

"Damn it!" he said. "NOW how am I going to find her! I have to get out of this rain before I drown." He raced to Kagome's house to get some shelter. When he got there, he hid in the shrine in the backyard to keep himself from being noticed.

---

"Kuwabara, you'll drown out here!" exclaimed Kagome.

"Don't worry about me, Kagome," he replied. "You should be more worried about yourself than about me, and if anything happens to you, I'll be right here." He took her hand in his. "Please let me walk you home. I can't leave you out here by yourself. It's dangerous out here. Something might happen, and I don't want you to get hurt."

Kagome nodded and held his hand in hers as they walked the rest of the way in silence. Kagome didn't even notice she had dropped her umbrella and left it there on the ground while she was talking to Kuwabara!

When they got to Kagome's house, Kagome noticed that her mother's car was missing. _Hmm, mom's not home yet,_ she thought. _She probably got caught in another traffic jam picking Souta up from school. Grandpa's probably asleep. It wouldn't be any use trying to bang on the door 'cause Grandpa sleeps through EVERYTHING. How am I going to get in?_

"Is something the matter, Kagome?" asked Kuwabara. "Yeah," she replied. "My mother's gone, and I have no way in."

"What a bummer," said Kuwabara. "Tell ya what. You can come to my house and…" A loud clap of thunder interrupted Kuwabara. Kagome was so scared and surprised that she instantly clinged to Kuwabara, holding him tight. Kuwabara couldn't help but grin "like a blubbering idiot."

That grin turned to look of shock and concern when a giant bolt of lightning hit a branchjust above the two.

"KAGOME! LOOK OUT!" he yelled, pushing her out of the way. "Hey, what was that for…!" she began, but her sentence was cut off when she saw Kuwabara laying face down on the ground under a large tree branch about three times his size screaming in agony and pain. She instantly knew what had happened. That bolt of lightning had hit the tree branch and he pushed her out of the way so she wouldn't get hurt.

"KUWABARA!" she exclaimed.

She ran to him and pushed the branch off him. It took nearly all of her strength to do so. "A-are you o-okay?" she said, her voice cracking. Kuwabara didn't answer, but slowly got up and leaned against the tree the branch had fallen from for support.

"K-Kuwabara?" Kagome said. She was on the verge of bursting into tears. "Kuwabara, talk to me!"

"I'm all right, Kagome," he said weakly. "Listen, we have to get some shelter. Why don't we just go to my house? It's just around the corner and plus we'll probably catch pneumonia if we stay out here any longer."

Kagome nodded as they both got up and walked to his house.

_Flashback_

"KUWABARA!"

Inu-Yasha knew that voice from anywhere. "Kagome. She's nearby." He whispered to himself. "But where?" The rain lightened up a little as Inu-Yasha exited the shrine again and tried to sniff out her scent. Inu-Yasha was right. Kagome was nearby. He heard her voice again.

"Kuwabara, talk to me!"

"She's definitely nearby," he said. "And who the heck is Kuwabara?" he thought. Inu-Yasha followed the sound of her voice. He found himself outside again, but by the time he got to the front yard, she was gone again.

He looked to the left. Nothing. He looked to the right. Nothing. He was about to leave and go back to his time, giving up, but before he did, he looked up at the sky, and said, "I'm sorry, Kagome."

_End of Flashback_

He was just about to turn and leave when two silhouettes caught his eye. He could recognize one of them from anywhere, just like the scent. It was Kagome, and the other one was some tall guy he didn't recognize. She was only down the street. But what was she doing there? It was raining like crazy outside! And more importantly, who was that guy she was with? Inu-Yasha followed them.

"Shizuru-san! Shizuru-san!" said Kuwabara when they finally got to his house. He had been banging on the door for a good minute or so. "Open up the door!" After about 2 minutes she finally answered.

"Where the hell have you been!" she said, lighting her cigarette. "And who's your friend?"

"It's a long story," said Kuwabara. "Please, just let us in and I'll explain."

"Alright, fine," said Shizuru. "Let's get you two inside and dried off."

"So your name's Higurashi-san, huh?" she said to Kagome after about 20 minutes of getting the two dried off and in some dry clothing. They were all in the back room of the house. Kuwabara wore a red T-shirt with some dark blue jeans while Kagome wore some of Shizuru's old clothing. They fit her just right. She wore a pink sweater (just like the one she wars in the beginning of the first episode) with a long khaki skirt. By this time it was pitch black outside and raining harder than ever.

Kagome nodded her head. "Yes, ma'am." Shizuru chucked. "You don't have to call me 'ma'am'. I'm only 17. So what happened here?"

Kagome and Kuwabara explained everything from their first meeting to the book-in-the-hallway incident to the umbrella-in-the-rain incident.

"Oh, I see," said Shizuru as she lit herself another cigarette. "Well, I'll leave you two alone. Have fun, little brother!" She said, winking at Kuwabara as she got up to leave. "I have my own little lover to attend to."

"We're NOT lovers!" yelled Kuwabara. "Sure, whatever, bro," she said, winking at him as she left the room. "Sisters are so stupid," he mumbled to himself. Kagome just rolled her eyes and grinned. "Wait a minute…what lover?"

---

Inu-Yasha found himself at the Kuwabara household minutes after following Kagome's silhouette. Something told him to just bust in and apologize to Kagome, but he couldn't. He'd probably get killed in the process. He climbed up a nearby tree and peeked inside the window.

_What is she doing in there?_ he thought. Kagome found a nice comfy spot on the couch and decided to lie down. Her hair hung over the arm of the couch, slightly curling fromstill having water init. She looked up at the ceiling and couldn't help but wonder what was going on in Inu-Yasha's time. How were Sango, Shippou, Miroku, and Kaede doing? She could care less about a certain selfish, half-ass dog demon. Little did she know that that certain "half-ass dog demon" was outside watching her.

Kuwabara was puzzled. "What lover?" he thought to himself as he got up and quietly followed his sister into her room. He didn't go in, but he stood by the door and started eavesdropping.

"Ah, I've been waiting for you," said a very familiar voice that Kuwabara couldn't quite put his finger on. "I missed you. Come here and give your big daddy some sugar."

"That is SO lame!" said Kuwabara. "Who uses **THAT** line anymore?"

Kuwabara couldn't take it anymore. He couldn't help take a peek inside the door… to see a certain black-haired boy he got into that fight with kissing on Shizuru!

"**GET YOUR GRIMY HANDS OFF MY SISTER!"** he yelled as he bust down the door and started beating the crap out of that black-haired boy.

"Kazuma! What the hell are you doing! Leave him alone!" yelled Shizuru as she pulled Kuwabara off the black-haired boy, now with bruises all over his face.

She then turned to him. "Derrick, Derrick, are you alright?" Derrick, being the black-haired boy, looked up and said, "I'm fine." "You'll have to excuse my brother, Kazuma. I don't know what's gotten into him."

"But Shizuru," started Kuwabara. "He's a bad guy! He…" Shizuru interrupted him. "Oh, yeah?" said Shizuru. "What makes him so bad? You don't even know the guy and you're already jumping to conclusions!" "No, I'm not!" said her brother. "Let me explain."

"I'm listening." Shizuru was slightly ticked off.

"Okay, see what happened was I was walking down the street and I heard a girl scream so then I went to see what it was and I saw HIM (–he pointed to Derrick—) hitting Kagome in the face over some stupid beer bottle and he had her by the neck punching her and stuff so he punched me in the face and I punched him back and knocked him out (–he then smirked--) and then…"

Shizuru interrupted him again. "Kazuma, you aren't making any sense!"

"Baby, let me explain," said Derrick calmly. "He doesn't know what he's talking about. First, I would NEVER hit a female. And second, I don't even drink!"

THAT LIAR!

"I believe you, honey," said Shizuru, love struck. "See, Kazuma? He's not so bad." (And you would think Shizuru was smarter than this. -.-')

"But Shizuru, HE'S LYING!" said Kuwabara. "I saw him hit Kagome himself! He's the guy who hit Kagome and that's how…"

Derrick butted in. "Shizuru, please believe me," he said, cupping her face with his hands.

"He doesn't know what he's talking about. I'd never hit a female. They're my life. You're my life." He leaned in and softly kissed her lips making her heart flutter.

Well, that worked!

Shizuru couldn't help herself. She pounced on him and they both started making out on the couch.

"Yuck," said Kuwabara. "I rest my case. I'm outta here. _…Freakin' Americans…" _

---

"Hiei-kun, get down from there!" yelled Kurama. "It's raining out here, and you'll get drenched!"

"Yes, Hiei-kun," said Yukina, his sister. She had come to the living world to pay a little visit to everyone. "Please come down. I want to see you again."

"Yeah, Hiei-kun," said Yusuke. "Get your ass down here! We don't have all night, you know."

"This is hopeless," said Genkai. "Let's just leave him here and get going."

"It won't be the same without you, Hiei-chan." said Botan cheerfully. "Save that fairy-tale shit for Kuwa-baka," snapped Hiei.

"We're going to be late," said Keiko, looking at her watch. They were all about ten blocks or so away from Kuwabara's house, close to Yusuke's school. They were all going to go to Kuwabara's house for a nice little in-house reunion/picnic.

Well, anyway, they were all headed to Kuwabara's house but Hiei—being a stubborn-ass, as always—wouldn't come down from that tree he's always sitting in.

"If this reunion has anything to do with that buffoon then I'm not going." continued Hiei. "I have better things to do with my time than waste it with you stupid humans."

Genkai rolled her eyes. "That's it. I am NOT about to waste my time waiting on his stubborn ass. It's raining out here, and I'm not drowning out here because of him. See ya."

Genkai left and headed to Kuwabara's house. Botan, Keiko, Yukina and Yusuke soon followed.

Kurama stayed behind. "Are you sure you don't want to go, Hiei? You should, you know. It'll be fun!"

"I don't need your advice," said Hiei coldly. "Like I said, I have better things to do with my time."

Kurama shrugged his shoulders. "Fine. Suit yourself then." He soon followed and caught up with Genkai and the others.

---

"Man, what has gotten into Shizuru?" said Kuwabara. "This isn't making any sense. I bet she's barely even knows the guy…Ehhh, I'll get to that later. I have more important things to worry about…like _the party! Oh no! I totally forgot!"_

Kuwabara rushed to the kitchen and got to cooking. He made sushi, rice, ramen, and just about anything else you could eat on a in-house picnic. Pretty soon the mouthwatering scent of food filled the air.

_Mmmmm…something smells good,_ thought Kagome. _I could use something to eat after all this thinking…especially about a certain dog demon I'm not mentioning. I hope they've got something good to eat here._

She was going to get up, to find something to eat, but a huge wave of sleepiness overcame her and she found herself rolling over on the floor,landing with a loud thud,and snoring softly in a deep sleep.

The phone rang. Kuwabara had just gone doing all that last minute cooking and rushed to get it. It was Yusuke, of course. "It took ya long enough," he said when Kuwabara answered the phone.

"What do ya want, Urameshi?" said Kuwabara.

"Well, for starters, why don't you let us all in! Me, Genkai, Kurama, Keiko, Botan, and Yukina have been…"

As soon as Yusuke said "Yukina", Kuwabara hung up the phone, rushed to the door, opened it and let everyone in. "It's so nice to see you again, Kazuma." said Yukina sweetly. She stood up on her tiptoes and gave him a little peck on the cheek. Again, Kuwabara couldn't help but grin "like a blubbering idiot."

"Where's the food?" said Yusuke hungrily, rubbing his stomach.

Keiko shoved him. "Yusuke!"

"What?" replied her hungry boyfriend. "Can't a guy ask for some food? I'm starved!"

"I agree," said Kuwabara and Yukina at the same time. They then looked at each other and smiled.

"Let's eat!" said Kurama happily.

They all went in and sat down at the table. Even Shizuru and Derrick finally quit making out and came to sit at the table. They were all about to dig in when Kuwabara said, "Oh! I'll be right back. Don't dig in quite yet, ok?" He left.

Yusuke ignored him and started to reach for some ramen but was immediately stopped when someone slapped his hand. "Don't…even…think about it!" said Keiko sternly.

"Damn it!" scowled Yusuke.

---

Inu-Yasha was still sitting outside, soaked.

_Forgive me, Kagome, he thought. I'm so sorry I yelled at you. Just… come… back to me…_

The demon couldn't take it any more. Tears started rolling down his face.

_I guess that's what I get, then… How could I be so selfish?_

His tears mixed in with the rain falling on his face. He was in a fit of sadness and rage, mad at himself for letting his wants and needs get in the way of his true love.

_How could I put a jewel... a stupid glowing jewel before her? That jewel's nothing to me now. It would be nice to be a full demon… but what good would it do if that demon doesn't have anyone to protect? I guess she's better off here… without me._

With that, the anguished and disappointed demon headed off to his own time, never to come back.


	5. Death of an Angel

**A/N: Just to remind you, yes, this is Kuwabara/Kagome fic. Don't like don't read. **

**Chapter 5:**

**The Death of an Angel**

"Higurashi-san…Higurashi-san, wake up."

Kagome stirred. "Wha…what's going on?"

"I want you to meet some more of my friends. Come on."

Kagome slowly got up. Kuwabara took her by the hand and led her into the dining room. The whole room hushed as Kuwabara got everyone's attention.

"Hey, everyone, this is Higurashi Kagome-san," He said.

Yusuke stood up, outraged. "Hey, that's the girl that Kuwabara…!" he started, but Keiko interrupted him by stomping on his foot.

"OUCH! Damn it, Keiko, what'd ya do that for!" he yelled. "That Kazuma-kun what?" asked Yukina, confused.

"Nothing," replied everyone else, except Kagome, who was confused as well, and Yusuke, who was still griping about his injured foot.

"Botan's the name! It's very nice to meet you, Higurashi-san," said Botan cheerfully.

"Yes, and I am pleased to meet you as well," said Kurama with a warm smile. "I'm Shuichii, by the way."

"Well, what the hell are we all waiting for?" said Yusuke. "Let's eat! I'm starved!"

"No one's stopping you, Urameshi-kun," laughed Kuwabara. "Dig in, everybody!"

Everyone stuffed their faces like little pigs. Kagome smiled. She felt right at home. Maybe she could actually start fresh here and not have to go back to the feudal era after all…

---

Naraku stood in the dark undersurface of his castle. A dark fog of black and purple flooded his sight. Then a bright pink light came into view. It was coming from none other than a shard of the Shikon Jewel.

He stared at the jewel shard that glowed in his hand. It gave off a bright pink aura that fluctuated as he felt his strength increase and it gave light to the fog that surrounded him. He growled in pleasure as the gem amplified his power. He felt stronger by the minute!

"_I…I WILL get stronger…and…that Inu-Yasha, his human girlfriend, all of them...they'll perish…"_

He was determined to kill Inu-Yasha at all costs. He had to be stronger for the next time he faced off with Inu-Yasha so he could do away with that dog demon and his crew once and for all.

"Kanna!"

Soft footsteps were heard as a young demon came into view.

She was a rather ghostly young girl. She had pale skin, white hair, wore a white kimono, and had gentle but flagitious black eyes.

She held a mirror that gleamed a light blue. Its luminescence contrasted sharply to the dark miasma of purple and black that surrounded Naraku and seemed endless.

"Show me the girl."

Without a word, the white-blue mist in the girl's mirror slowly shifted to a view of Kagome and another young boy who was unfamiliar.

"…_And then I said, "How 'bout I gently shove my foot down your throat!" said Kuwabara._

_Everyone laughed. Botan rolled her eyes and giggled. "Oh, Kuwabara, you're such a doofus."_

_Kuwabara saw this as a chance to get closer to Yukina. He gently slipped his arm around her waist, pulled her close, and kissed her on the forehead. Yukina blushed, but then smiled and kissed him back… _

Naraku gagged at the young couple.

"Ugh. Fuckin' human humans make me sick—**_huh?"_**

He was about to dismiss Kanna when he did a double take. He took a closer look at this human called Kuwabara. He was no ordinary human. He had unusual spiritual powers especially for someone of his age. He practically glowed red and his spirit energy skyrocketed. He was a peculiar young soul—a bit ditzy, yes—but he was just the type he needed to do away with Inu-Yasha. Then he looked at his girlfriend. She wasn't human at all; she was a demon—an ice demon. Her spirit energy glowed blue; that was a sign of purity. That disgusted Naraku. It was people like her that made his stomach turn. He put his grudge with Inu-Yasha on hold. He couldn't help but feel an urge to kill her. With that, he dismissed the young Kanna.

"That is enough." He said. "Come with me. We're going demon hunting."

Without a word, they turned, walked away, and soon disappeared into the mist.

---

Inu-Yasha walked down the rainy street, soaked. Thoughts of Kagome ran through his head the whole time. Just once, he actually wanted to hear her scream, "Sit boy!" one last time. Just once, he wanted to hold and protect her.

"_Kagome."_

Would it really hurt her to let him say "I'm sorry"? After all, he was only human. (Well, half-human, anyway…) Humans make mistakes, but they also learn from them, and are forgiven for those mistakes. But it seemed as if this mistake couldn't be forgiven at all.

"_Kagome."_

Inu-Yasha's voice cracked as he tried to pull himself together and accept the fact that Kagome was happier with that other guy. But that other guy didn't deserve her; Inu-Yasha did.

"Kagome…I didn't mean to hurt you…"

If only he could take those words back…

_Flashback_

_Kagome sat, watching the sun set by the old well. Inu-Yasha sat beside her with his arms around her while she leaned on his shoulder._

_"Beautiful, huh?" he said, holding her close._

_"Yeah," sighed Kagome. She looked over at the small jar full of jewel shards. Its bright pink glow illuminated the now dark sky._

_"You know we only have four more shards to go, right?" she said softly._

_Inu-Yasha nodded and grinned. "Yeah, and then I'll be a full-fledged demon."_

_"Umm, about that…" said Kagome._

_"What is it?' asked Inu-Yasha._

_"I've been meaning to talk to you about something…"_

_"Yeah?"_

_"Umm, remember when you told me that you'll always protect me and be with me?"_

_"Yeah, so? What's your point?"_

_"Umm, well, I'm worried about you."_

_"Why?"_

_"Because we haven't been spending too much time together lately. All you've been talking about is the jewel shards and what you're gonna do with them when you get them all. I'm worried that it might go to your head and…"_

_"Look, Kagome," said Inu-Yasha sternly. "Like it or not, I'm gonna be a full demon when we get those shards!"_

_"That's the point! I'm worried that there might not be a "we" when you're a full demon! You act as if being a full demon is your number one priority!"  
"It is," said Inu-Yasha selfishly. "Got a problem with it?" K_

_agome was instantly infuriated. "Of course I have a problem with it! What about me?" _

_"Look, this has been my dream since forever, and I'm not about to let something like this get in the way of that, so you're just gonna have to deal with it." _

_"What do you mean 'something like this'? You mean to tell me that all we've been through means nothing to you? Are you just using me to get to those jewel shards?" _

_I__nu-Yasha didn't even have to say anything because "Yeah, so what?" was written all over his face. Kagome was so shocked and angered by this that she was speechless. _

_"Why…you…!" she started. Inu-Yasha didn't even seem to feel guilty about what he had just did. Furious tears streamed down Kagome's face._

_She finally mustered up all of her anger and sadness and let it out in a scream at the top of her lungs. "**SIT!"** _

_A loud thud was heard as Inu-Yasha's face hit the ground…HARD. _

_"**We'll see how far you get when you don't have me to lead you to those jewel shards! Goodbye, you good-for-nothing mutt!"** _

_She jumped into the old well and was soon gone, taking the jewel shards with her. Inu-Yasha got up, spitting out dirt. _

_"Whatever! You'll be_ _back!" he yelled back as he set off to bed. _

_End of Flashback_

"**Kagome!" **

He howled in anguish. He couldn't control himself. He put all of his sadness and anger into one fist and took it out on a nearby tree. Its leaves rustled, followed by a thud, and curses were heard from the other side of the tree.

Unfortunately, that tree was the same one that Hiei was sitting in.

"Oh, shut up, you fucking crybaby!" he said. "You're such a damn idiot, crying over some worthless human, yet you call yourself a demon! I bet you're probably one of those pathetic C class demons," said the fire apparition as he came from the other side of the tree, meeting Inu-Yasha. "You all make me sick, wandering this earth like you're actually worth something…"

"Take that back, you midget!" snarled Inu-Yasha. He was easily angered.

"Make me, bitch," chuckled Hiei. "Like you actually stand a chance against me. You're worse than a C class demon! You're just a stupid hanyou! You reek of that disgusting human scent..."

"You're askin' for it!" growled Inu-Yasha.

"Aww, did I make the little baby cry?" laughed Hiei. "Bring it. Like you could actually kill me. I'd rip you to shreds…"

"**WIND SCAR!"**

---

Minutes, later, everyone was still stuffing their faces. Yusuke rubbed his stomach and belched loudly. He was stuffed.

"Man, Kuwabara-kun, I never knew you could actually do something right for a change! Maybe you should do cooking instead of trying to fight! Finally, you've found something you DON'T suck at!"

Kuwabara ignored his friend's rude remark. "I enjoyed the meal as well," said Yukina sweetly. She leaned over and pecked Kuwabara on the cheek, which made him--for the THIRD time--grin "like a blubbering idiot."

Yukina giggled. "You sure do smile a lot, Kazuma-kun," she said.

"Well, I can't help it," he replied. "You're so beautiful. How can I not smile? I mean, you're an angel."

Yukina blushed. _"Me! An angel? No…"_

"Yes, you are," he reassured her. "I'm not blind. I know an angel when I see one." He took her in his arms. She snuggled into the crook of his neck. "And you are truly and angel." He kissed her on the forehead and they continued to eat.

Kagome smiled at the couple._ Must be his girlfriend,_ she thought._ How sweet._

---

Hiei hardly knew what hit him. He lay on the ground, completely caught off guard by Inu-Yasha's attack.

"Now you DIE!" Inu-Yasha pounced on the fire apparition and was just about to do him in with the Tetsusaiga until he disappeared into thin air.

_Shit! Where is he! thought Inu-Yasha._

"Show yourself!" snarled Inu-Yasha. "You're gonna die regardless, so you might as well come out!"

Hiei stood behind a nearby bush, getting ready to attack. "That's what you think," he chuckled evilly. Black flames formed around his right arm as he snatched the bandages from it. He knew he wouldn't be able to use his arm again for while, but he didn't care. That son of a bitch had to die. Now!

Inu-Yasha caught the scent of the flames. "What the hell…!"

Huge black flames emerged from the bush Hiei was now standing in front of.

"You're an arrogant little one aren't you?" chuckled Hiei. "You're all the same."

"What's _that_ supposed to mean?" growled Inu-Yasha in a low tone voice. It was so low that it was kinda sexy.

"You know what I mean. It's hanyous like you that give us _REAL_ demons a bad name. All it takes is one of you trying to be a real one and you're _ALL_ trying to be like us…"

**"I'VE HAD ENOUGH OF YOUR YAKKIN'! I'M CUTTIN YOU DOWN! WIND SCAR!"**

Inu-Yasha launched his attack and it headed straight for Hiei. It hit him head on, but it had no effect for now Hiei was completely coated in black flames. The attack went right through him and down the street, destroying everything in its path.

Inu-Yasha stood there, wide-eyed in shock.

"W-what the hell! N-Nothing gets by my w-wind scar! W-who a-are you!" he stammered.

**"THE GUY THAT'S ABOUT TO SEND YOU TO HELL!"**

"W-what…!"

**"DRAGON OF THE DARKNESS FLAME!"**

The ebony flames now formed a dragon shape around Hiei's arm and headed straight for the startled hanyou. He ran as far away and as fast as his legs could carry him. He soon found himself at Kagome's house.

**"Hey, hanyou! Come out and PLAY!"**

Inu-Yasha found himself bursting through the door and dashing through every room in her house, destroying anything that got in his way. He could have sworn he saw the jewel when he passed Kagome's room…

He crashed onto the shrine, jumped into the well, and soon disappeared.

**"You can't escape me! Die, hanyou!"**

Hiei jumped in the well, determined to kill the half-demon…

_---_

Naraku and Kanna strolled down the dark corridor of the castle. Just then, another demon came into view. This demon was female. She had jet-black hair tied in a bun and wore a multicolored kimono. She had scary red eyes and held a fan. "Kagura," said Naraku. "Come join us. We're going for a small stroll. Care to join us?" The female rolled her eyes and joined the two. It wasn't like she had a choice.

---

Keiko stretched and yawned. "It really is getting late," she said between yawns. "I better get home. School is tomorrow, after all!"

"Keiko-san, it's Friday." said Yusuke, sweatdropping. "You seriously need to get some sleep."

She got up and left, followed by Yusuke, who repeatedly kept asking her if she was okay. Genkai and Kurama did the same.

Before long, Yukina left as well.

"Goodbye, Kazuma," she said, smiling before she went out the door. "I can't wait to see you again." She kissed him one last time, which literally melted the redhead.

He went back in the house, tripping over his own two feet.

---

Yukina left the Kuwabara household and was halfway home, in the middle of the Ice Region. She couldn't wait to tell all of her friends about the nice time she had in Human World. Kuwabara was such a sweetie. She couldn't help but love him.

All further thoughts about her Kuwa-chan were interrupted when she stopped cold.

"_There you are…"_

She could have sworn she heard a voice. She looked to the left, and then to her right. Nothing.

"We've been waiting for you…" "Who's there!" she yelled. "C-come out! S-show yourself!" Silence. She continued to walk, thinking it was just her imagination. Then she heard another voice.

"_What's the matter? Don't run away. I just wanna talk…"_

"Leave me alone!" She yelled only to hear,

_"Fine then. You shall die."_

Yukina was chilled to the bone. Her skin turned pale white. She started to run, but didn't get far when she heard another voice.

"_Oh, no you don't! Dragon Dance!"_

A tornado of snow and ice shards rose surrounded her. The shards tore at her skin and kimono. She fell to her knees and tried to crawl her way out. She found it hard to move, and blood was starting to show through her blue kimono. Her arms were now scarred and bloody and her kimono was ripped. She found it harder to move as she tried harder and harder to get away. She fell onto her stomach in a spreading pool of her own blood. Her vision started to blur, and all she could make out was what looked like a woman in a multicolored kimono, a small child in a whit kimono, and a rather large monkey. Her vision finally faded, and the last thing she saw was a large ice shard coming toward her…

There was an ear-splitting scream, and that pool of blood just got a little bit bigger.

---

Shizuru got up to leave.

"Hey, bro, me and Derrick are goin' out for a while. Take care of the dishes for me, would ya?" They were both out the door before Kuwabara could protest.

That only left Kagome and Kuwabara.

---

"Help me… please…someone…"

Yukina's body lay in the blood-matted snow. She lay there in the middle of the Ice Region nearing death as the ice-cold wind nipped at her already pale skin. Her spirit energy was leaving her body, little by little.

Three voices surrounded her.

"I think she's dead now." Kanna leaned over and stared at her with a blank expression.

Kagura scowled. "So this is the girl you wanted us to kill? Pfft! This was too easy. I was hoping she'd _at least_ put up a good fight."

"Don't fret, Kagura. This was fun. And besides, this is a clear example of what will happen to that hanyou and his friends once I get my hands on them."

This voice was that of a male. The man it belonged to was rather tall and wore this ridiculous monkey suit.

Their voices echoed through the remote Ice Region.

Tears streamed down Yukina's pale face and hardened into small, precious stones that strongly resembled the Shikon Jewel. Oblivious to this, Naraku and Kanna left, satisfied with their kill.

They left the girl there to die, with no one there to save her. With that, her life slowly faded, along with her hope of anyone saving her…

Kagura stayed behind.

"Huh! It was a waste of time killing this girl. I don't see why he dragged Kanna and me out here just to kill some demon girl. We might as well have—hmm? What's this?" Kagura noticed something glimmering beside Yukina's bloody and lifeless body. She walked over and saw what looked like six little gems. She picked one of them up and examined it. "It's pretty. It kinda looks like the Shikon Jewel, but it looks pretty worthless to me—huh?" Suddenly, the gem emitted a bright blue aura. The gem itself started to turn dark. A pink wisp of smoke escaped from it. Kagura felt her body absorbing a huge surge of energy like she had never felt before. She felt invincible!

"Hmm. Maybe this thing _isn't_ so worthless…"

With that, she confiscated the rest of the gems and flew back to Naraku's castle, eager to tell him about her discovery.

---

Hiei nearly tripped and fell crawling out of the well. Oh, curse his shortness! (LOL).

_What the hell...!_

He thought as he took a look around. He was completely surrounded a grassy plain under a moonlit night sky. He could faintly make out an old village on the horizon.

_Where the hell am I?_

"Hmm, no matter," he said to himself, pulling out his sword. "I have a hanyou to do away with…"

---

"_Damn, that was close," _sighed Inu-Yasha, climbing out of the well.

He looked up to see Shippou sitting by the fire.

Shippou sprang to his feet, ran up to the soaked dog demon, and started asking a plethora of questions.

"So, how'd it go? Where's Kagome? She didn't come back, did she? Huh? Did she? Huh…?"

"Shut up," grumbled Inu-Yasha, shoving him out of the way.

"It didn't go too well, did it?" said Shippou.

"She's too preoccupied with some human guy to talk to me," he said.

"Really?" said Shippou.

"Yeah, and I swear, if she gets hurt, she better not come running back to me!" replied Inu-Yasha, who was now very pissed. "Where's Sango?"

"Oh, she's taking a bath over in the lake. And I don't know where Miroku went. He was just here a second ago…"

Just then they heard a loud scream.

"_**Miroku, you pervert!"**_

_POW!_

"I think that answers your question," said Inu-Yasha, rolling his eyes.

Miroku soon appeared, running through the woods, sporting a nice red handprint on his face, followed by a very pissed off Sango, wearing a towel.

"Whoa, what happened—" she began, noticing Inu-Yasha's condition.

"Save it," he snapped. "I'm going to bed."

He left while Sango shrugged her shoulders went to finish her bath.

---

Kuwabara was in the middle of doing the dishes. It had been 2 hours since everyone else left.

Kuwabara looked at the clock. 9:27.

He finished his last dish and yawned.

"Whoo, I think it's time to hit the old sack, Kazuma," he said between yawns.

He went into his room to see that Kagome was already asleep there.

The moon was at its brightest tonight, and that made itself clearly noticeable as it gleamed through his window, outlining on the sleeping girl.

He came and sat down beside her.

She tossed and turned.

---

"_LEAVE ME ALONE!" Kagome cried out. Sango, Miroku and Kilala were all lying on the ground, dead from wounds caused by Inu-Yasha's hands._

_Inu-Yasha pinned her to the floor, in his full demon form, determined to get some answers._

"_You really thought you could get away from me, bitch?" he growled through his bared teeth._

"_GET OFF ME!" she screamed._

"_Tell me where the jewel shards are!" demanded the demon. He tightened his grip on her, and dug his claws into her arms._

_She screamed even louder in pain as they started to bleed._

"_NO!"_

"_Then I guess you leave me no choice, you vile human! DIE!"_

_He drew back his hand and all that was heard was a bloodcurdling scream. All she felt was a hot, searing pain in her chest, before she fell to the ground, dead…_

_---_

She blinked several times and looked up to see the worried faces of Kuwabara, Shizuru and Derrick.

"Are you okay, Kagome?" asked Kuwabara, who was the most worried.

"Yeah, you had us worried there, kid," said Shizuru. "With all that screaming we thought you were dying or something.

Kagome nodded. "Don't worry, I'm fine," she managed to say. "It was just a nightmare, but it's all over now."

"Oh," said Shizuru. "Well, try to rest your head and get some sleep, all right?"

The raven-haired girl nodded once again.

Shizuru and Derrick went back to bed.

"You sure you're okay, Kagome?" Kuwabara wasn't exactly sure she was okay.

"I'm fine... and you can let go of me now."

Kuwabara blushed realizing he had his arms wrapped around her for quite some time.

Regardless, he leaned over and gave her another hug.

"I just want to make sure you don't get hurt."

"Quit worrying about me and go to bed…!"

"Sorry, It was just that…that I was ...well, I was worried about you. You know... I was scared for you and…"

"You're seeing things, Kuwabara," Kagome reassured him. "Everyone's gonna be fine. Go to sleep."

"All right, fine. Thanks, Kagome. You're an awesome friend."

He crawled over to his bed and was soon sleeping like a baby.

Shizuru burst through the door the next morning.

"Kazuma, come quick!"

Kuwabara yawned and complained.

"Darn it, sis, it's 7:00 in the morning! What is it…?"

"It's Yukina!"

He was out of bed and dressed so fast it was pitiful.

"What about her?" he said eager to find out about his girl.

"Has she come back?"

"I-I don't know how to tell you this…"

"Just say it!"

"Umm, well…"

"SPIT IT OUT!"

"She's dead."

* * *

**A/N: Whoo! My fingers are weary. Sorry about the chapter being so long. It plays a huge role in the rest of the story. Chapter 6 will be up maybe sometime tommorow. Please leave a review and let me know what you think! **

**Love,**

**-xX--BlackAngel--Xx**


	6. Painful Perception

**A/N: ****This is a pretty sad chapter, but it gets _really_ interesting toward the end.**

Recap:

Shizuru burst through the door the next morning. "Kazuma, come quick!" Kuwabara yawned and complained.

"Darn it, sis, it's 7:00 in the morning! What is it…?"

"It's Yukina!"

He was out of bed and dressed so fast it was pitiful. "What about her?" he said eager to find out about his girl.

"Has she come back?"

"I-I don't know how to tell you this…"

"Just say it!"

"Umm, well…"

"SPIT IT OUT!"

"She's dead."

---

_**Chapter 6:**_

_**Painful Perception **_

Kuwabara froze. He stood there wide-eyed in shock, refusing to believe his ears.

"**What!"**

"She was killed by some demon on her way back to the Ice World. Botan just gave us the news. I'm really sorry, bro…"

"This isn't funny, Shizuru." He said, laughing it off. "April Fool's Day was a week ago…"

"I'm not kidding, Kazuma. _She's dead. _I'm sorry."

"Look, Shizuru, I don't know what kind of a joke this is but _it's **not** funny!"_

Shizuru's voice became very serious. She grabbed him by the shoulders and looked him dead in the eye.

"No one's playing around, Kazuma. Yukina is…_dead."_

He snatched away from his sister ran into the living room. Yukina couldn't be dead. He was just talking to her last night. She couldn't die!

But the cruel reality hit him when he got there.

His eyes welled with tears when he saw Yukina's picture standing on a platform. Below it lay her lifeless body on a little mattress. Her hair was down, outlining her face and she was dressed in a white kimono, with sakura petals on them, right side over the left. Her skin was a slight shade of pink, almost as if she were blushing. Yet, even dead, she was still beautiful.

Everyone he knew was there, dressed in black, even Kagome.

Keiko sobbed uncontrollably on Yusuke's shoulder while he held her and stroked her hair. Botan tried as hard as she could to hold back her tears and cope with the fact that her friend was gone for good. The one thing that hurt her the most was the fact that she'd have the dreary job of taking her to Spirit World. Tears rolled down her face as Kurama held her hand for support.

Koenma was there, too, in his teen form. He, too, was on the verge of breaking down as he knelt down and said a prayer for the late ice maiden.

"She was truly an angel," he thought as he sat down beside Shizuru.

Kuwabara tried as hard as he could to convince himself that this was some kind of a cruel prank, but it was mere seconds before the relentless truth hit him. The one girl—besides Botan—who cared for him, who didn't insult him and call him ugly, and saw him as the wonderful person he was…was dead, gone for good, and there was nothing he could do about it. He walked up to his deceased girlfriend and held her frigid hand as he, too, shed tears.

Even Kagome, who barely knew the girl, cried. She saw a bit of purity and kindness in the girl, and she recognized that, for most people aren't like that. However, it pained her to see Kuwabara suffer like that. But it also reminded her that his heart belonged to someone else. After all, she couldn't possibly have feelings for a guy whose heart belonged to another girl…right?

"Why? She was supposed to be with me…forever…how could she die? Please let this be some kind of dream! SHE **CAN'T** BE DEAD!" Kuwabara refused to accept the truth.

It was almost an hour before everyone could pull himself or herself together.

---

Kuwabara looked at Koenma.

"Who did this to her?" His voice was shaky with anger.

Koenma looked a little hesitant before he spoke.

"So far I have little information on who the killer—or should I say _killers_—are. All I know is that the three of them were after the stones that formed from her tears. One of them I have had to deal with numerous times. His name is Naraku. He is notorious for wreaking havoc in both the past and present. …"

"And the other two? What about _them?"_ asked Kuwabara, getting slightly irritated.

His tone of voice bore strong resemblance to Inu-Yasha's, that Kagome immediately acknowledged and rolled her eyes.

"Well…I don't know. All I know is that they were there when they killed her. One of them looked about Shizuru's age while the other one was rather scary-looking. I couldn't do much to help Yukina. All I could do was witness her death."

Kuwabara was instantly pissed. "What do you mean _"witness her death"!_ Were you there!"

"No, I wasn't there. I saw it on a tape that Botan sent me."

Botan jumped up.

"Don't even _try_ to put the blame on me!" she shrieked. "I didn't send you _anything!_ You knew for a _fact_ that she was gonna die! Hell, you even helped make the funeral arrangements!"

Kuwabara glared at Koenma.

"You _knew!"_

Koenma hesitated again.

"Of course I knew. I knew the exact time and place…everything.

Kuwabara had lost all control before he knew it. Koenma found himself grabbed by the shirt collar and jerked eye level with the angry teen.

"YOU _KNEW_ SHE WAS GONNA DIE! **THEN WHY THE HELL DIDN'T YOU TRY TO SAVE HER!"**

Even Yusuke was shocked at his friend's loss of composure.

Koenma remained calm.

"Because it's not my job to determine who lives and who dies. Fate does that. I_ keep records_ on who lives and who dies. And it was her time to die…"

"_Well, why the hell didn't you tell me!"_ snarled Kuwabara through gritted teeth.

"The same reason you follow that stupid honor code of yours. It's my duty."

Kuwabara wanted punch his lights out for that comment, but he didn't just because it was the truth.

_---_

Hiei dashed through the plains, headstrong and in the mood for killing a certain hanyou. He still didn't know anything about his whereabouts, but that could wait.

_Whack._

A huge boomerang hit him square in the back of the head.

_---_

"Damn it, I missed him!" Sango's Hiraikotsu missed Koga by a hair, and a giant Kilala was after him like a pit bull after a steak.

It all started when Sango accidentally dropped her clothes into the lake while trying to dry off after taking a bath, and Kagome left one of her old uniforms in the feudal era. So, being that she desperately needed dry clothes and couldn't walk around naked (much to Miroku's dismay), she put it on socks, shoes and all and waited for her clothes to dry. Well, here comes Koga and wouldn't ya know it he sadly mistakes her for (who else?) Kagome. Well, Koga went a little too far and _accidentally_ wink wink grabbed her ass and…well, I'm pretty sure you know the rest.

"I'll teach you to mistake me for Kagome, you sick pervert!"

Sango's scream could be heard from miles away.

Miroku ran after her.

"Yeah," he shouted. "And no one hits on Sango but ME!"

Koga ran as fast as his legs could carry him.

"Stop it, Sango! I swear it was a mistake!" he howled. "Besides, you couldn't possibly be Kagome! You're too ugly!"

Inu-Yasha sat back laughing his head off.

"It's about time that dumbass got what he deserved!" Inu-Yasha cackled.

---

The boomerang fell to the ground as Hiei rubbed his head and picked it up.

"_What the fuck is this piece of crap?"_ he said to himself before someone said,

"Excuse me, little boy."

Hiei, being the said 'little boy' turned to see a rather shapely young girl of about 16 or 17. She wore a multicolored kimono and had long hair.

"Um, thank you for finding my Hiraikotsu, but I would like it back, please." She said in a sweet tone of voice.

Hiei glared at her. "Hn," he mumbled as he gave it back to her.

Sango grinned and reached down to pat him on the head to thank him…

"Touch me and I break your wrist," he snarled as he slapped her hand away. "And for the and record, I'm NOT a little boy, stupid onna."

"What! Why, you…!" She was about to give him a piece of her mind, but he had already disappeared into the woods.

Miroku ran up.

"Who was that guy, Sango?" he asked, eyeing him suspiciously.

"I dunno," she said, not knowing whether to be thankful or pissed off.

Miroku looked over to see that Kilala had finally caught Koga and had him pinned to the ground. Inu-Yasha stood there laughing.

"Ooh, you're gonna get it now!" he sneered.

"Yes," said Sango, smirking. "He is."

"_No, Sango, **WAAAAAIIITT!"**_ were Koga's last words before he got the beatdown of a lifetime.

---

Three hours had passed since the funeral.

"_Wha…where am I?"_

Yukina blinked several times and looked up to see Botan's tearful face. She looked around and saw and mysterious environment of a beautiful pink and blue fog.

"You're in Spirit World, honey," replied Botan.

"W-w-what's wrong, Botan? W-why am I in Spirit World?" The confused bluenette looked around. "W-what's going on? D-did I do something wrong?"

"No, you didn't do anything wrong, Yukina," said Botan, trying hard not to choke on her tears. "You _died. _You were murdered a demon on your way back home._"_

Yukina stood there, not knowing to be shocked because it happened or sad because she never had a chance to say goodbye to anyone.

A tear trickled down Yukina's face. This was enough to have Botan break down sobbing uncontrollably and pulling the sad girl into a tight hug. She had grown so attached to her over the past year that she had known her. She remembered being envious of her for stealing Kuwabara away from her a while back, but she knew she didn't mean to, and now she and Yukina were the best of friends. A huge surge of pain hit her when she realized she was saying goodbye to her friend. _Forever._

"Come with me," said Botan taking her hand. It was now or never and she had to get it over with.

---

That night…

Sleep didn't come easy for Kuwabara. He lay there in bed crying and still trying to cope with Yukina's death. She was all he could think about. She was his heart, she was his soul…hell, she was his everything. She was like a part of him, and when she died she took a part of him with her. Hot hears ran down his pale pink face and onto his pillow. Just holding her in his arms again would make him feel better. Reality hit him once again, and he clutched his pillow and sobbed even harder, knowing that all he could hold onto now were her memories.

---

_Meanwhile…_

Naraku seemed hell-bent on finding a way to kill Inu-Yasha. Satisfied with that they did to Yukina, his will to do away with him became stronger. The only problem was he couldn't do it. Why do it yourself when you could have someone do it for you? But the _real_ question was _whom_ he could get to do it.

He thought about Kagura, who was beaten nearly every time she faced off with Inu-Yasha, and scowled. She was considered weak in his eyes. Thinking about Kanna softened his scowl. She wasn't exactly as useless as Kagura, but he only used her for looking at whom he could victimize next. And so he stood there, twiddling with that jewel shard, not knowing what to do with it. It continued to glow a bright pink.

He thought harder. His offspring were practically useless, and that shard had given all the power he could drain from it. A bright red haze was emitted from his body, which was already covered in vile demons. He looked at the tainted jewel shard once again, and chucked evilly. His power was at its peak!

"_Ha! Inu-Yasha, your days are numbered." _He chuckled to himself.

Kagura rolled her eyes.

_Here he goes with one of those "oh-my-god-I-will-take-over-the-world you-and-you're-all-gonna-die" speeches._ She thought. She stood a few yards away, clutching the tear gems she managed to get her hands on.

"_You will suffer…"_

She took a closer look at the tear gems as Naraku continued talking. She counted six of them in all.

"_You will feel pain…"_

Then it hit him.

"_**You will all feel my wrath! You will die a slow, horrible death. I will make sure of that."**_

Naraku concentrated all of his gained energy and the red haze surrounding him grew. The demons surrounding him undulated and formed a large, mucky glob. The foul glob slithered around and slowly morphed into purplish-brown clay shape of what looked like a human.

Naraku threw his jewel shard into this mucky mess, and then a resonating red light flooded his sight and all he could make out was a fuzzy silhouette.

Naraku looked amused.

"Hmm, it moves."

The red light faded and what he saw amazed him.

Long, flowing locks of red hair waved with the wind and fell to outline the form of a naked girl. A pale hand reached up and brushed the bangs away to reveal a face of silky white porcelain skin. Her fierce, glowing green eyes snapped open as she tried to help herself up.

Then all was still.

"Naraku!" Kagura's voice broke through the emptiness.

"What is it, Kagura?"

She said nothing. She simply held out her hand and opened it. _Thwick, thwack, thwick._

Five small spheres rolled out of her and hit the linoleum floor. She kept the sixth one for herself. They glowed blue, and one could feel their power from miles away.

"Use these."

The gems rolled over to the girl. Almost as fast as lightning, the gems flew to her body and absorbed themselves in her body. A blue miasma outlined her curvy figure as the gems made themselves at home inside her.

Naraku raised an eyebrow. He was clearly amused by this girl.

"Rise, my child." He reached out and flicked his wrist so that his palm was facing up, and summoned the figure to come toward him. Almost like a rag doll pulled by a string, the body was lifted from the floor and levitated toward its creator. He took her face in his hands and firmly pulled her closer. The scent of vanilla and roses filled his nose, instantly turning him on. He had a notion to lay her down and screw her right then and there. And knowing what kind of sick bastard he was, he just might have.

He grinned, satisfied with what he'd made.

"Kagura. Kanna. Get this woman some clothes. We will make good use of her."

With that he let go of her, letting her body slowly descend to the ground. The two girls obeyed. Kagura caught and carried her in her arms. The three girls were halfway out the door when Kagura said, "I think our new sister needs a name. What should we call her?"

Naraku stood there quiet for a while. He looked out the window to see a faint glimmer of light outline the mountains ahead as the sky turned from black to red. The sun was rising.

"I think I'll call her Akane, after this beautiful red morning."

With that said, Kagura and Kanna left Naraku to look out the window and meditate. He had a long day ahead of him to train his new daughter. A wide grin spread across his face as he realized he was one step closer to reaching his goal.

---

The almost complete jewel still lay in the jar on Kagome's nightstand. Its bright pink light glimmered. Then the light flickered out.

The jewel started to shake and change color. It turned from pink to a dark red to a dark purple and finally to pitch black. The jar shattered, and a faint hissing noise was heard as a pink wisp of smoke left the now tainted jewel.

Something was up.

---

**A/N: Umm, yeah, I can probably tell you're kinda mad at me for killing off Yukina in the last chapter. Well, chill out. She's not going to be the only one who dies, so brace yourself.**


End file.
